No one should expect too high of ratings to come from The CW, so in that respect, "Smallville" didn't do too bad in its season premiere.

"Smallville" earned a 3.1 rating/5 share Thursday, according to Nielsen Media Research, clocking in as the least-viewed new episode of the night. Of course, it had plenty of competition including "Survivor: China," which pulled in an 8.4/14 for CBS followed by "Ugly Betty" on ABC (7.4/12), "My Name Is Earl" on NBC (5.3/9) and "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" on Fox, according to Zap2it.

The only show that came close to "Smallville's" rating was "Don't Forget the Lyrics" on Fox, which picked up a 3.6/5.

Don't fret too much about "Smallville's" ratings, however. It matched the rating of "America's Next Top Model" the night before, which is considered The CW's most popular show. It also was still a ratings point ahead of the Kevin Smith-directed "Reaper," which premiered Tuesday night.

For the evening, The CW finished in last place with a 2.4/4. The top networks were CBS with an 11.3/18, ABC with a 9.4/15, NBC at 5.7/9 and Fox at 4.2/7.

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that includes both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.